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Ex-state education official indicted in bribe case

ALBUQUERQUE - A former New Mexico Public Education Department official has been indicted in what federal authorities call a bribery scheme involving two Illinois education-company executives.

An indictment filed last week in U.S. District Court in northern Illinois alleges Arturo Martinez took bribes from 58-year-old Jowhar Soultanali and his son, 34-year-old Kabir Kassam, as part of a $33 million fraud racket.

According to the indictment, Martinez, then an educational administrator, accepted from the Illinois pair money, meals and services at a strip club.

At the time, Martinez was the director of migrant education.

There was no listing for Martinez, and it was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

The Public Education Department says Martinez resigned in January 2012 after being put on administrative leave. The agency declined to comment further.